It gets better sometimes
by stormbringer94
Summary: At 15 years old, Alex is brought back from San Francisco after another "incident". Aged 17 he's sent to Brecon Beacons. What happened during those missing two years? K-Unit are determined to help, but do they really know what they're getting themselves into? Multi-chapter fic. Set after Scorpia Rising, with a few changes; Blunt is still running MI6. Rated T for language. R&R .
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys, so this is my first A.R. fic. Be nice, please :)_

_I don't own Alex Rider, or any of the characters in it. If I did, K-Unit would be there ALL the time!_

* * *

Rain pelted against the roof of the mess hall as the soldiers ate. The place was a cacophony of loud male voices and banging cutlery. Whenever there was a lull the sound of the rain filled the silence. Wolf, Snake and Eagle were hunched together discussing the latest disaster of a recruit when the intercom tone rang out, briefly silencing the hall.

"K-Unit, report to the sergeant immediately."

A few heads turned as the three men rose from their meal and left.

Wolf knocked smartly on the sergeant's door.

"Enter." a voice barked from the other side.

Wolf opened the door and K-Unit entered single file before standing to attention in front of the desk. Snake and Eagle stood to his right. They had yet to finds a suitable replacement for Fox, who had left two months ago for MI6.

The sergeant stood behind his desk glaring at them. The man always glared. The room was silent as he scrutinised the three men in front of him. They didn't even twitch. He gave a satisfied huff and nodded.

"At ease!" he barked. The man never whispered or spoke quietly. He gave orders in short, sharp tones, roared reprimands, and screamed insults. Compliments in the SAS where few and far between, and never came from the sergeant. This was the military, not summer camp.

"K-Unit, Fox will be returning to the SAS, and to your unit. I don't know why he left and I don't know why he's back but what I am demanding from you is that he stays this time. I will not sit around here training fucking kids to be men only to have fucking MI6 poach them. Is that clear?"

"Yes Sergeant!"

"Good. Now, on to business." He turned abruptly and went to sit behind his desk. The sergeant never sat during Unit reports, or briefings. K-Unit hid their surprise though, trained as they were not to break from position.

"I'll be frank, men. MI6 have made a request. One that I don't like or understand.

"It appears that Fox will be returning with another addition to your unit."

Sergeant Manson knew his men well enough to know they were itching to ask questions, and was secretly pleased when they contained themselves.

"Cub will be rejoining K-Unit. He and Fox arrive in three days."

Wolf's jaw clenched and Eagle's eyebrow twitched. If making this unit squirm for a moment was the only enjoyment Mason got out of this shitfest, then he was going to make the most of it.

Seconds ticked by as he waited for his men to crack. To be honest, after the bombshell he just dropped, he wouldn't judge them. However, K-Unit were trained professionals and they held their ground. His brief attempt for entertainment foiled, the sergeant returned to the task at hand.

"You have 60 seconds to ask your questions, off the record. Ask, before I change my mind."

Eagle was first, of course.

"How long will Cub be staying this time sir?"

"Indefinitely."

Wolf was next to recover.

"What should we know that MI6 aren't telling us?"

"An old colleague at MI6 managed to send me a copy of Cub's file. It's limited but gives an idea of why he's coming here. You will have 30 minutes in the briefing room to see the file before it is destroyed, following this meeting, off the record, of course. What else?."

Taking his turn, Snake asked the last question.

"What do we do with him sir?"

"Cub hasn't been informed yet of the situation. He will be given one week to adjust and then he will join you in training. The SAS is not a place for special treatment, but the training officers will be aware that these are special circumstances. Despite everything, Cub is clearly a kid. Ease him into it. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Wolf, you are the Unit captain. This will not be easy. The men won't like it, especially our newest additions, and I have a feeling Cub won't like it either. Just remember, Cub isn't coming as an insult to you or anyone else."

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Dismissed."

K-Unit snapped to attention, saluted the sergeant and filed out the door.

The file was suspiciously ordinary looking. Thin, like all Intelligence files, it sat unobtrusively in the centre of the steel table.

Wolf picked it up but levelled a stern look at his team before opening it.

"Look, there's clearly a lot going on that we need to talk about, but we only have 30 minutes to read this and memorise it, so forget what you're thinking and let's just deal with the task at hand."

Following their captain's lead, Snake and Eagle sat at the table and tried to focus on the file. Wolf flipped open the cover and immediately disregarded most of the papers. Most of the file consisted of Official Secrets Act documents and financial reports. Eventually they came across what appeared to be the only useful information in the whole file; Cub's personal information summary.

**Name: **Alexander John Rider

**Age: **17

**Date of Birth: **13/February/1996

**Place of Residence:**

4 Kings Road, Chelsea, South London, UK

1204 Baye St, Alameda, CA, USA

Brecon Beacons SAS Training Facility, UK

**Education:**

Brooklands Comprehensive School

Alameda High (4 months)

*Removed from school – tutoring at Brecon Beacons

**Known Associates:**

Tom Harris (civilian)

Sabina Pleasure (civilian)

Jack Starbright (civilian – deceased)

Yassen Gregorovitch (Person of Interest – deceased)

Anthony Sean Howell (Person of Interest – deceased)

Tamara Knight (CIA operative)

Bejamin Daniels (MI6 operative – former)

Derek Smithers (MI6 technician, agent)

**Known Relations:**

John Rider (father – deceased)*

Helen Beckett (mother – deceased)

Ian Rider (uncle – deceased)*

*Former MI6 agents.

**Legal Guardian:**

Ian Rider (deceased)

Jack Starbright (deceased)

Edward Pleasure (guardianship terminated)

Royal and General Bank – (Representative: Tulip Jones)

Note: Rider has been monitored from a young age as a person of interest and future investment, due to family association with MI6 (see Ian Rider; see John Rider). Guardianship obtained to secure asset.

**Mission Record:**

Herod Sayle – Stormbreaker (see Ian Rider; see Yassen Gregorovitch)

Dr. Hugo Grief – Point Blanc (see K-Unit; see M-Unit)

General Alexei Sarov – (see CIA joint-op file #154J87D)

Damian Cray – Eagle Strike (unauthorized: see Yassen Gregorovitch)

Scorpia – (see Julia Rothman; see Yassen Gregorovitch; see John Rider)

Ark Angel – Nikolei Drevin (see Paul Drevin; see Magnus "Kaspar" Payne; see Tamara Knight; see CIA)

Snakehead, Scorpia – Major Winston Yu (see Anthony Sean Howell; see Royal Blue; see Benjamin Daniels; see ASIS)

Greenfield – Desmond McCain (unauthorised: see ricin; see RAW (ISOS); see First Aid)

*see Harry Bulman

Horseman – Abul-Aziz Al-Rahim "Razim" (see Julius Grief; see Scorpia; see CIA; see Jack Starbright)

**Success Rate:**

Subject has successfully completed all missions. Mortality rate of colleagues is within normal range. Note: excessive destruction utilised to ensure completion of mission.

Additional Note: Subject displays signs of chronic insubordinate behaviour, on and off contract. Regulatory methods employed have been unsuccessful so far.

**Date of Recruitment:**

12/Mar/2010

*Note: Subject displayed reluctance to be recruited. Methods employed. Success to be determined.

**Medical Status:**

Fit for duty

Hospitalisation Occurrences: 7

*See mission files

**Medical Note:**

's medical staff express concern for subjects situation. Advise further recovery time allowance. Taken under consideration. Disregarded.

Subject has displayed remarkable resilience following traumatic injury (see Point Blanc; see Ark Angel). PT not required. Supervision recommended. Taken under consideration. Confirmed.

Psychological evaluation recommended. Initial psychological evaluation Confirmed. Further evaluation: to be considered.

**Preliminary Psychological Evaluation:**

Subject displays reluctance to discuss missions and relevant details. Distrustful of strangers. Possible trauma – unconfirmed. Possible sleep deprivation – unconfirmed. Possible PTSD – unconfirmed. Further evaluation recommended.

"Jesus." murmured Snake.

"What the hell do all these anagrams stand for?" Eagle huffed. "ASIS? RAW? ISOS? And PTSD? Do they seriously think he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at 17?"

"You'd be amazed." Snake interjected, "Even young children can get PTSD, if they's evperienced something really horrific. And by the looks of it, Cub's had plenty of oppurtunities to be traumatised. I mean, looking at this file, it doesn't seem as though these have been low profile missions."

"Snake's right." Wolf said, speaking for the first time since opening the file. "ASIS is Australian Secret Intelligence Service and ISOS is Indian Secret Operations Service. I don't know what RAW is, but it looks like Cub's been loaned out to all kinds of agencies."

The three men sat in silence for a moment, mulling over what they had just read. Eventually Wolf shook himself out of the daze and pulled the file back toward him.

"Look, like I said at the beginning, there's a lot to talk about. But we know that the sergeant has nothing more to give us, so there's no point in asking. We have 15 minutes left. Let's just try to memorise what we can before they destroy the only information we have on Cub, ok?"

His teammates nodded and focused back on the file.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok, so here's chapter 2. This is a week after K-Unit read the file. _

_I don't own Alex Rider or K-Unit :(_

* * *

K-Unit were waiting for the new arrivals in their barracks. Wolf was working on something at the desk and Snake was on the floor doing sit-ups. They had been excused from the morning drills and Eagle was already getting fidgety.

"When do they arrive again?"

"0900 hours." Snake answered from the floor, giving up on his exercises.

"And when is that again?"

"In an hour, Eagle."

"I wish they'd have let us run some drills this morning." He complained, "I hate this sitting around and waiting crap."

Snake clapped him on the shoulder and went to sit on his own bunk. Wolf gave a noncommittal grunt from his desk. Sheets of tactical maneuver guides were spread in front of him.

"Wolf, what the hell are you doing? Those drills are basic." Snake sighed, ignoring the sharp glare his leader threw him.

"I'm changing them." Wolf growled.

Eagle pulled himself up off his cot and moved to look over Wolf's soldier.

"Why are you changing them?" he asked, frowning at the mess of notes and lines drawn all over the diagrams. Wolf swatted his hand away before answering.

"I'm trying to accommodate Cub. These maneuvers are all going to be different for us now. We may be used to working with Fox, but with Cub, we're a five-man team. Not to mention, we have no idea what standard he's at. I'm trying to figure out how to ease an untrained 17 year old MI6 agent in to SAS training."

Eagle glanced at Snake who shrugged.

"I'm guessing it's not going too well." Eagle quipped, but the humour washed right over Wolf.

"No." He groaned, scrubbing his face with his hands. "I just can't wrap my head around what they want us to do. I mean, between his file, and what we saw in France, we know the kid's good. But that doesn't mean that this isn't seriously fucked up. I mean, did you see what they said about his recruitment? He was reluctant so _methods were employed_. What the fuck does that even mean?"

"Look Wolf, maybe you should take a break. We'll figure out what to do with Cub when he gets here. And don't forget, we'll have a week before he actually starts with the drills."

"Snake's right, Wolf. Not to mention Fox. He clearly knows Cub, and I'm sure he'll know what Cub can and can't do. Or you know, we could just ask Cub."

Wolf's expression read like a book. Adding an extra cot and playing 20 questions with the kid wasn't going to sort out this mess.

"Wolf –"

"Look, I know we talked about this. I know we've been talking about this all week. But I just can't let this go. I'm sorry."

"We know, but –"

"No! We haven't said this, because clearly no one wants it to be true, but what if Cub's been _affected_ by the work he's been doing."

"What are you saying Wolf?" Eagle frowned.

"What I'm saying is there's clearly a reason for Cub being sent here, and whatever it is, it's not good. Cub was a kid when he first arrived here. He wasn't equipped to deal with trauma, and we aren't equipped to handle a kid with PTSD."

"Are you saying you don't want him here?" Snake asked with raised eyebrows.

"No! Just the opposite. I want to help Cub. And, before you say anything, it's not just because I feel guilty for being a first-class ass the first time around. We're soldiers, and the most important thing we have to remember as soldiers is what we're fighting to defend."

By now Wolf was out of his seat, staring into the faces of his companions.

"I am _not_ fighting for a country that will manipulate and abuse a kid whose been left completely alone. I didn't sign up for that and neither did you!"

Eagle leapt up and started to applaud, wiping a pretend tear from the corner of his eye.

"Bravo sir! Stirring speech, worthy of the great Bard himself!"

"Shut up Eagle." Snake groaned, throwing a boot at him. "Look Wolf, it's great that you want to help this kid, but like you said, we're not equipped to handle a traumatised child. Maybe his age isn't the only reason he shouldn't be here."

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that we have to prepare ourselves for whatever else is going on with Cub. We helped each other after Kabul, and we were able to do that because we understood. If an outside therapist couldn't help any of us, then what are chances of one being able to help Cub? Because I can promise you that whatever shit we've been through, it's nothing like what he's had to deal with. We at least people to watch our backs. Cub's been alone."

"Look man, my brother's a psychologist but I can hardly call him up now, with my non-existant phone by the way, and get a full understanding of PTSD in adolescents in under an hour." Eagle sighed.

Snake was slowly coming around to Wolf's point of view. Any information was better than nothing.

"But surely you're brother has mentioned something about his work before. I'll bet he's tried to psychoanalyse you a million times over the years."

"Yeah, and I've developed a pretty handy ability to block out his psycho-babble." Eagle snapped. They all knew Eagle wasn't on the best of terms with his family, least of all his twin. Their sibling rivalry had taken a nasty turn when Eagle had joined the army, and his brother got accepted into Cambridge. He came from a family of academics and doctors. His parents had told him explicitly that choosing the army over university made him a complete failure in their eyes, something his brother loved to remind him of. That had been ten years ago and they were still trying to convince him to give up his life with the SAS to become a lawyer or something.

Changing his tactics, Wolf dropped his "Unit Leader" voice and tried again, this time, as a friend.

"Please Eagle. We know your brother's an ass. We met him, remember? We just need to know if anything stuck with you."

Eagle's mouth twitched. Eventually he caved.

"Look, I zoned out every time he tried to go all therapist on me. Truth be told, the only thing he ever said that stuck with me was that talking helped, clichéd as that sounds. He was so insistent that unless I talked to someone I was going to turn into a crazed killer. He said keeping all the fear in could twist a person. "

Eagle paused and gave a hollow chuckle.

"That was years ago though, when I first joined up. I don't think it occurred to him that the only fear I'd experienced by then was fear of the sergeant. The real shit came later, but that's what I have you guys for. Not that it mattered to him. As long as he gets to rub my so-called failures in my face..."

It wasn't much to go on, but bitter and brooding wasn't Eagle's natural state so they dropped the topic.

Eventually, that last hour passed, and the long-awaited knock on the door, finally came.

Fox was the first to enter. Grinning from ear to ear he shook hands with his captain before dumping his duffle on the floor and moving to greet Snake and Eagle. Wolf could hear them laughing and jabbing at each other but his eyes were fixed on the figure in the doorway.

Cub had grown. He was taller. He had lost what little roundness he'd had in his face. He was still blonde. Wolf couldn't remember if his hair had been lighter or darker before, but it didn't seem important.

All things considered, he didn't look all that different. Older, and a bit sadder, but still Cub.

"Hey Wolf." He said quietly. Everything about him just screamed _tired_. Wolf couldn't tell if it was physical exhaustion or mental. Maybe it was both.

Wolf paused for a moment before offering a sad smile.

"Hey Cub."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello again. I guess I find it easier to write about Alex and K-Unit than I do to write these introductory notes, so I won't bore you anymore :P_

_I don't own Alex Rider. He and K-Unit belong to the genius that is Mr. Horowitz._

* * *

The awkward silence in the room was practically suffocating them. Wolf indicated to Cub's bed with a small jerk of his head. Cub nodded and went to dump his dufflebag on the cot. Snake and Eagle watched his every step, as though they were waiting for him to spontaneously combust. Pausing for a moment, Cub took in their curious expressions and was quick to leave. As soon as the door shut behind him Eagle pounced on Fox.

"Tell us everything! And if you even think the word classified I'll shove Wolf's socks down your throat!"

"And don't think I'll save you anymore. I'll actually be holding you down." Snake added.

Fox huffed out a breath.

"Damn guys, war changed you..." he said in mock seriousness.

"C'mon Fox, help us out here." Eagle whined, "That file on Cub was completely bogus."

"You were lucky to get anything at all." Fox grumbled, "That file is packed compared to what the heads were going to give you."

"So you do know about the file!" Snake jumped in.

"Of course I do, idiot." He scoffed, "I'm the one who handed it to the sergeant."

"You wrote the file!"

"No, Eagle, didn't you hear what I just said? I delivered it."

"Right, but you have read it?"

"Well, yeah –"

"So you know there are still a lot of blanks to fill in."

"Yeah, but –"

"And you, as our resident Cub-expert, are going to fill in those blanks."

Eagle sat back with a smug grin on his face. Snake looked at Fox expectantly. The pair waited eagerly for Fox to regale them with tales of the teen superspy's adventures, but their old-now-new-teammate sat in silence.

"Well?" Eagle said, "Start!"

"To be honest, guys, I really don't know Cub all that well." Fox admitted.

"But you were on a mission together!"

"Not really." He shrugged, "Alex was technically working for the ASIS at the time. I was just the tail MI6 had on him."

"That's all?"Snake said incredulously.

"Well, I sort of took a bullet for him, I think."

"What the hell, man? How do you _think_ you took a bullet for him?"

By now Eagle was pacing in frustration. This was supposed to be whole lot simpler than Fox was making it. He was playing games with them and they all knew it.

"Well, I was in the same room as him when our target, Major Yu, shot me. I don't really know what his story was, but the guy really had it in for Cub. That's all I know."

"But you're supposed to have developed this deep brotherly bond, you know? From shared near-death experiences and all that. I mean, you just said you took a bullet for him for Christ's sake!"

"Well, to be honest, I don't think Cub was about to be shot, so technically I just took an ordinary bullet."

"And what did Cub have to say about you getting shot?"

"Not much."

"Screw this!" Eagle huffed, turning to Snake in exasperation. "They _both_ need therapy!"

Snake finally stepped in, back to his old role as peacekeeper.

"Surely you have some idea of what's he's like? We just want a bit more insight into Cub the person, not Cub the spy."

"Well, we never really talked about much, aside from the mission. I mean, I can tell you he's a great kid. Everyone liked him, even when he didn't talk much. People just seem to get attached to him. I was really worried all those times he disappeared. He's also a damn good operative. Unorthodox, yeah, but he gets the job done every time."

"Ok, so he's a good operative and a good kid. Wonderful." Eagle grumbled sarcastically.

"Look, guys, every time I ran into Alex, he was either after pulling some crazy - and most often flammable- stunt, or he was pissed off at someone. We didn't really have much one-on-one bonding time. Not to mention that Australia was almost three years ago, and he's been with MI6 almost full time since then."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the file you got was completely accurate, but it wasn't complete." Ben shrugged helplessly as Eagle opened his mouth to complain again. "Look, Smithers couldn't get access to Alex's updated file. He gave you what he had, but that's it. After he was brought back from the states Blunt and Jones were careful not to let Smithers see him too often. Didn't want trouble, you know? Smithers just said he wanted you guys to have an idea of what Alex has been up to. I guess he was hoping it would make you be easier on him or something."

Eagle banged his head on the table.

"Well it seems to have worked, at least." Fox joked weakly.

"Yeah, but there's still over two years worth of information missing." Snake fumed, "I mean, what if something in those two years explains why Cub is here. Or what if there's something in the file that we really should know?"

"What do you think Wolf?" Eagle asked, finally turning to their strangely quiet unit leader. There was only one problem.

"What the hell! Where did he go?"

Cub sat perched on the log fence outside the barrack.

"Can I join you?" Wolf said, coming up behind him. Cub didn't flinch or jump. He just turned his head slightly to look at his new captain.

"It's your fence." He quipped.

"It's yours too now," Wolf said quietly, swinging his legs over the chipped bark, "if you want it to be."

Cub didn't give an answer, and Wolf wasn't really expecting one.

Waiting for nothing in particular, Wolf picked up a stick off the ground and started to whittle away at it with his knife. He'd shredded the whole stick by the time Cub spoke again.

"They asking Fox about me?" he asked, staring at the tree line. Wolf followed his lead and kept his eyes fixed on the stick in his hands.

"Yup."

"They getting anything out of him?"

"Nope."

"They asking about the file?"

"Yup."

Neither of them spoke for a long time after that. The just sat there side by side; Cub, watching the clouds drift by, and Wolf, shredding a new stick. Eventually it was Cub who broke the silence.

"Wolf?"

"Yeah Cub"

"Are you going to ask me about my file?"

"Probably."

The silence stretched on for even longer after Wolf's reply. The clouds Cub had been watching had merged together to for one massive grey blanket across the sky. Eventually Wolf's stomach started to feel hollow, indicating lunch time and the end of their peaceful interlude. Pocketing his knife Wolf chucked each of the seven now shredded sticks, into the trees. Gripping Cub's shoulder briefly, Wolf stood and started back to the barracks. The moment his hand touched the handle he heard Cub speak from behind him.

"Hey Wolf?"

He turned to see Cub still sitting on the fence staring at the clouds.

"Yeah Cub?"

"Thanks."


	4. Author's Note: READ ME, I'M NOT THAT BAD

_Hey guys. _

_Just an author's note. Hope you're not too disappointed. _

_Just letting you know that this story is going on a short-term hiatus, due to my exams. It's only for a couple of weeks, and don't worry, I still have plenty of ideas so I'm not going anywhere. _

_If I do update this story in the next 6 weeks do NOT encourage me. I should be studying, not procrastinating. _

_Thanks for the reviews so far, and hopefully there won't be any need for author's notes in the future._

_-stormbringer94_


	5. Chapter 4

_So, thanks for the patience guys. If you hate hiatus messages half as much as I do then you're probably not to pleased with me. So, to make ammends, here is chapter number 4. I was bold and broke my own rule. Thanks for all the encouraging messages though!_

_I don't own Alex Rider._

* * *

When Wolf woke it was still pitch black. It was too early, even for him. Something had disturbed his sleep but he couldn't focus enough to remember what. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he was reminded.

Someone in the room was breathing harshly and twisting around in their bed. He could hear the bed springs creaking under the constant movement. Opening the blinds above his head Wolf squinted toward the sound. The moon wasn't helping all that much, only casting a dim grey light around the room.

The groaning stopped for a moment. There was a moment of pure silence until Eagle gave a muffled shout and shot up from his bed. He stood poised for a minute, braced for an attack. He scanned the room with wide eyes, his chest heaving, before he saw Wolf sitting on his own bed. Finally recognising his surroundings, Eagle dropped back onto his cot and rubbed his eyes. Wolf picked up his own water bottle and placed it beside Eagle.

"Afghanistan?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yeah."

"You good?"

"Yeah."

The pair shared an understanding look. Then Eagle blew out a long sigh and lay down again.

"Night Wolf." He said, before rolling over and going back to sleep. Being a soldier had trained them to sleep when they could. Turning to go back to bed Wolf was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Cub, sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at him. He had clearly witnessed the entire exchange. Sensing the significance of the moment, Wolf held Cub's stare. Unlike the previous evening, Wolf was the one to eventually break the silence. He spoke in a low voice, hoping to impress on the kid just how much he meant what he said.

"We all get nightmares Cub."

* * *

The next morning when Wolf woke, Snake and Cub were already dressed. He could hear Eagle stirring across the room. Snake was grinning as he made his bed. Cub was sitting on his bunk, lacing up his boots. The corner of his mouth kept twitching. Wolf looked to Snake, about to ask what was so funny, when he noticed Fox.

Their old friend was lying sprawled on his back, his head and shoulders tipping off the end of his bunk. A trail of drool ran from the corner of his mouth, past his eyebrow, before disappearing into his hairline.

"I don't think he'll be up anytime soon Wolf. At least, not without help." Snake snickered. It wasn't really funny, though. If Fox was late they'd miss morning parade, which means they'd miss breakfast. Glad as he was to have their old unit member back, if Fox cost him his breakfast, Wolf would murder him.

He was about to throw his boot at Fox and yell at him to wake up, when he noticed Cub watching him. His eyes flickered expectantly between Wolf and the sleeping Fox. He was waiting for Wolf to explode.

It irritated Wolf a little that Cub would have him figured out after one day back at camp. Deciding to throw the kid for a loop, he just rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Wake Eagle first. He'll want to see that."

* * *

By the time the five of them were up, dressed and on their way to breakfast, K-Unit had decided that Cub wasn't so bad after all. He was quiet, and he preferred to watch Eagle and Snake poke fun at Fox. But, when he did speak, it was too say something quick and often sarcastic. Cub was smart, but he knew where the line was and never crossed it. He seemed to realise that his life would be that much easier if he let K-Unit deal with his presence in their own time, not that he had anything to worry about.

With the others cheerfully accepting Cub, Wolf didn't have to worry so much about the kid's mental state. He figured Cub was more like him than Eagle; he kept his feelings to himself and that suited him just fine. If he wanted to talk he knew Wolf was there. Hopefully their sort-of-conversation the other day had made that clear.

By the time they arrived for breakfast, he mess hall was packed. Seven of the fifteen benches were occupied by loud, obnoxious new recruits. K-Unit sat next to M-Unit. The Hall had divided, along an invisible line, into recruit tables and senior unit tables but the noise still filled the whole room.

Eagle and Fox were trying not to laugh as Wolf scowled at his tray. Cub cast a curious glance at him before looking at Snake for answers. Snake saw Cub's questioning look and grinned, leaning in to explain.

"Wolf hates eggs. Like, _really_, hates them. It's beyond irrational, but, he's going to have to eat them if he wants to last the day."

Wolf huffed.

"He also has to eat them because when Wolf gets hungry he turns into a real horse's arse, don't you Wolf?"

By now Alex could see why Eagle and Fox were laughing. Wolf's absolute disgust in the face of something as innocent as scrambled egg was comical.

"Yeah, he can be a real pain. Why do you think he was such a bastard when you were here the first time?" Eagle chuckled.

"Eggs?" Cub said in disbelief. "That's _all_ that was about?"

"Well, yeah. That, and he was actually a genuine bastard at the time."

If Wolf was being more lenient because of Cub he wasn't going to let the others know, least of all Eagle. So, determined to maintain control over his unit, Wolf promptly jabbed Eagle in the ribs, grabbed his roll, and dumped his own eggs onto Eagle's plate.

Eagle wheezed dramatically and clutched his side. Snake and Fox laughed openly and Wolf tried to hide his own grin. Cub chuckled quietly. He still seemed unsure of how K-Unit would react to him acting like one of them, but a quick wink from Snake seemed to put him at ease.

* * *

After breakfast K-Unit made their way back to their cabin. They were due on the assault course in thirty minutes, and Cub had been given a stack of papers to deal with. They guessed it had something to do with his tutoring.

As they walked Eagle became more and more excited. After almost two years of temporary unit members, getting Fox back permanently had lightened all their spirits. There was something about a soldier's selection unit that was just irreplaceable.

As the barracks came into view Cub fell into step behind them. While the others were preoccupied with, well, whatever it was Eagle was doing, Wolf dropped back.

"What's up Cub?"

He was trying to keep it conversational, but from the way Cub was eyeing Eagle, he was clearly curious about the nightmare.

"You're wondering about Eagle, aren't you?" Wolf began, hinting at Cub to speak. It wasn't so much a question, as a simple statement of facts. Cub ducked his head a bit, but his curiosity got the better of him, and eventually he spoke what was clearly on his mind.

"Shouldn't you be worried?"

Wolf didn't hesitate in his reply.

"I trust him." He said, "I know what I need to. Nobody in this unit would risk his teammate's safety for the sake of pride. That's what being in a unit means."

Wolf watched his young companion from the corner of his eye, hoping to read his reaction. He was disappointed though. Either the light from the sun was blocking his sight, or Cub's expression hadn't changed. Either way, Wolf had no way of knowing what Cub was feeling.

"Last night, you said "we"." Cub said. Wolf was surprised. He didn't think that had registered with Cub.

"Yeah, I did. After all the shit we go through, all the stuff we see and do, I'd be more worried if I never had nightmares. I know the others feel the same."

Silence seemed to be a favourite response of Cub's. He took his time, trying to be diplomatic and respectful when he didn't need to be.

"You didn't ask me... about my file, I mean."

Wolf chuckled softly as Eagle threw a ball of moss at Fox's head and missed wildly. Then, without breaking stride or expression, he answered.

"Like I said Cub; trust."


End file.
